Ambulances were uninsured and grounded when we took office – Health Minister

Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has revealed that the government inherited an ambulance fleet in which none of the vehicles was insured, with many also grounded.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express, Mr Akandoh said the state of the ambulance fleet was one of the challenges his administration encountered after taking office.

“The status of the ambulances is also that we came to hear a situation where none of our ambulances were insured,” he said.

According to the Minister, the government moved to address the insurance gap in 2025. “And so in 2025 we insured all our ambulances,” he said.

Mr Akandoh also acknowledged concerns over the availability of ambulances across the country.

“I get this feedback that we don’t have ambulances, and all our ambulances have been grounded, and all that,” he said.

He said the government indeed found several ambulances grounded upon assuming office. “When we took office, there were a lot of them that were grounded,” he said.

However, the Minister said the situation has since improved significantly. “But as I speak to you now, we have more than 200 ambulances functioning,” he said.

He further disclosed that government plans to replenish the ambulance fleet in 2027. “We are going to add brand new ones, with 100 vehicles,” he said.

Mr Akandoh was asked whether the new ambulances would be distributed under the previous administration’s “One Constituency, One Ambulance” approach.

He said government had not yet taken a final decision on the distribution model. “Well, we have not taken the decision yet,” he said.

The Minister suggested that priority could be given to areas where existing ambulances had become faulty or non-functional.

“But I believe that if you have an ambulance within a particular area, and that ambulance is faulty, or is no longer functional, it’s only fair to replace that ambulance,” he said.

He added that government was also assessing the previous distribution model to determine whether it should be maintained or reviewed.

“But then we think about what they did, the pros and cons; we’ve tried that system — can we continue, or do we have to review it as a country?” he said.

Mr Akandoh said the government would build on systems that had proven effective. “We can only build on that as a system, and governance is a continuum,” he said.

“If we think that that system has served us well, why do we have to revamp?” he added.

Also read:

• NAS begins 24-hour operation to restore grounded ambulances

• Govt to procure 100 new ambulances for NAS in 2027 – Health Minister